The present invention relates generally to location systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system for locating individuals and objects with a tracking unit using location technologies including a global positioning system (GPS) and a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) for pinpointing the location of the tracking unit, and thus the individual or the object.
A need exists for determining the location of individuals that are believed to be abducted or lost (such as children, Alzheimer's syndrome patients, or mentally ill persons) or if a parent, guardian or property owner simply desired to verify the location of their child or property as an added measure of security and to achieve a certain level of peace of mind of knowing that the child or object is in its proper place.
Domesticated animals, including pets, may be tracked with conventional systems. Interested persons, such as zoologists, may track wild animals to study animal behavior and for collecting data.
Objects may also be located and tracked with conventional systems. For example, merchants may choose to track the location of goods and merchandise to guard against theft. Automobile owners often use location systems to facilitate recovery of stolen automobiles, such as the Lojack™ vehicle recovery system offered by the LoJack Corporation of Westwood, Mass., in the United States. Automobile owners, such as rental agencies, often track the location of automobiles rented by customers to ensure that the automobile is not removed to a location outside of a contracted boundary for rental use. Other location systems facilitate navigation when traveling, such as the OnStar™ system offered by the OnStar Corporation of Detroit, Mich., in the United States.
GPS technology is often incorporated in conventional location systems. Such technology, however, is generally limited to outdoor, line-of-sight uses. Consequently, finding the location of an individual or an object is difficult, or impossible for an indoor location or a location that is obstructed by a large structure (such as a tall building, a bridge, a dam, and the like) or geographical features (such as a mountain, a hill, a valley, a canyon, a cliff, and the like).
It would thus be advantageous to provide a system and a method for locating and tracking an individual or an object that may be located indoors or at a site that is outside the line-of-sight.